When officials conceal sex crimes, they are not only breaking the law, they are doing a huge disservice to the people and families that trust them. Victims who have suffered immeasurable pain and hardship are hurt anew when trusted officials hide crimes.

Now, every Jehovah’s Witness official who knew of or suspected or concealed these heinous crimes should be ousted and prosecuted for failure to report possible child sex crimes to law enforcement. If convicted, they should experience the most severe penalties possible. That's how we as a society deter such callous recklessness in the future.

We hope this case gives courage to anyone who saw, suspects or experienced abuse. We hope it prods them to call law enforcement. We also hope prosecutors across the US will use this case as an example to pursue charges against officials who conceal sex crimes.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 25 years and have more than 15,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)